Arena The Official NFL Discussion Thread (Now Featuring Time's Person of the Year, Taylor Swift!)

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/08/super_bowl_2014_at_metlife_stadium_may_be_storm_bowl_farmers_almanac_says.html{/URL}]Likely[/url] snow storm to hit the Meadowlands during Super Bowl XLVIII


Obviously there's no surprise with that prediction, or if the storm were to actually happen... I just want it to happen so, so bad; The freak out about it would be a glorious sight to behold. Also, I've always found it humorous that people take umbrage with a Super Bowl in possible cold & icy conditions. This is football after all, a sport build upon the foundation of uber toughness. The weather shouldn't matter.

 

I want to see the Bengals beat the 49ers in a blizzard Superbowl. It would have a wonderful historical ironic twist to it.

 

I want a blizzard. A Snowy Super Bowl would be great

 

This is my favorite news story of today: NFL trolls the city of Denver

 

I love this story as well for two reasons:


1) The NFL is merely marketing the game! There are Manning posters up, along with those featuring Flacco. The big deal is what again?

2) It reminds me of why Baltimore is opening up their season on the road, despite being the defending Super Bowl champions, and I ******* love that. The Orioles/MLB thumbed their nose at the big, bad NFL, and they won!

 

They should have held the game in Baltimore, and made it the Sunday Night Game. The Super Bowl winner should not open up on the road, even if that means sacrificing this Thursday tradition, let some other team open on Thursday since this was an unusual situation. But the fans should get to celebrate their Super Bowl winning team at the home opener.

 

Boo hoo

There will be a home opener for Baltimore, the fans will celebrate, and then all will be right in the sports world (for about a half a second, because there'll be another faux controversy for us to digest, dissect, etc... ).

 

It's no boo hoo for me, I'm a Giants fan. I have no dog in that fight personally, I just think there was a better decision to be made there.

 

That boo hoo was for the position/opinion you've got on this story... no **** that you're a Giants fan.

 

It's better branding for the NFL to have the Super Bowl winner at home. It's the smarter choice. The Thursday tradition is too new for people to be upset over, they had the wrong priority.

In a sense, your response highlights part of the reason why. People without a rooting interest generally don't care if they play the game at home or away. They aren't going to care that it's not a Thursday game either. The only people who have a built in reason to care are the same ones they alienated with this decision.

There may be some contractual thing with NBC that I'm not aware of that would change things.

 

At this point in the NFL's history, their cultural relevance is so great that if the Baltimore/Denver opener were held at a high school stadium in Alaska, people would still watch.

 

That's true, but the NFL seems determined to test that goodwill at every turn. You have to wonder where that might backfire. Football wasn't always king, and it's not written in stone that it must remain on top. Goodell would be wise to learn that lesson.

 

When it starts to backfire, it won't be because of an issue such as this... it will be something much, much more serious.

 

Yep.

 

I didn't even know that the Superbowl winner played their first game at home the following year (until people started to complain about it) so I'm completely lost on the significance of Baltimore playing away. I don't think I pay attention to whether the teams are playing at home or away.

 

That's part of the point. The only group affected by the decision are the ones the NFL made angry. That just isn't smart marketing. It's a loss without a gain. Why do that?

 

Just because they got angry doesnt mean the NFL is taking a loss. The champs will have plenty of fans buying merchandise and tickets will sell out at the stadium. How is this a loss for the NFL?

Mobile sock of s65horsey

 

It's a loss of goodwill with the fans, for no gain. That's a stupid way to conduct business, any business. Every decision in life is a tradeoff, and you want to make sure the tradeoffs work in your favor.

By itself, this is a small issue. But it's not the only example of this sort of thinking from the league.

 

If the NFL isn't going to see a monetary loss, then they don't care. Having an emotionally charged game on Thursday night for the first game of the season is worth it for the money gain over the supposed "loss of goodwill with the fans".

 

That's short term thinking. Because the day may come these decisions add up to the point that it does cost them. Rule changes, PSL's, pricing the average fan out of the stadium, put enough things together and eventually you could see it.

That's the funny thing about being at your peak, nothing stays on top forever. There is no law of physics that makes the NFL invincible.

They already have a problem with smaller market teams and ticket sales.

Also, there was no "money gain'. That's the point, there was no gain at all. You could have put any big market game in that time slot. Giants/Cowboys would have killed the ratings,

 

Injury issues are what is going to sink the NFL, not their decision to have the Superbowl team play away for their first game of the following season.

 

They settled the concussion lawsuit today, they made a good deal for themselves

 

For the first time I bought an authentic Steelers jersey. I always get the low priced store bought version. The way it is made and the better materials used for it are really good.

 

Juliet316

http://deadspin.com/the-mmqb-will-no-longer-use-the-name-redskins-1227448655]Peter[/url] King's The MMQB will no longer use the term 'Redskins'

 

Interesting.